


Child of Moon

by flordecai



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Gen, no romance here, only suffering, spoilers for KH3 fyi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-16
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2020-01-14 21:40:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18484906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flordecai/pseuds/flordecai
Summary: Xion's memories aren't their own- they belong to someone else, their time and entire being are not their own. Their entire existence is a mirror image of someone else's life. As they grow closer to the time where they must make an existence altering choice, just what are they giving up to protect a person they have never met?





	Child of Moon

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by "Daughter of Moon" by Adriana Figueroa, super Xion mood whenever I listen to that song.
> 
> Also, a few scenes here I describe from the scenes in KH3. Its more to give context as to what is going on with the characters. I am keeping this vague so people who HAVEN'T CAUGHT THE SPOILERS WARNING CAN LEAVE NOW OR FOREVER NOT BLAME ME FOR RUINING A RECENT GAME PLOT.
> 
> Cool, okay- YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED CHILDREN.

 

 

* * *

   _"Silver light  
__She turned her face up to the starlit sky  
__And on this night began to wonder why  
__She knew that soon the day would come."_  

* * *

  
The ocean had always enthralled them, the waves echoing off each other and crashing rhythmically against the beach, steady and sure of their purpose. The Destiny Islands were always full of the soothing sound of the tide coming and going, always constant, always there. It was no wonder they kept coming to the islands after every mission, not that they would ever tell anyone except Axel and Roxas. Both were the only two people- could they even call the two people?- that they could trust in the Organization, the only two who didn't make some comment under breath about a doll or a puppet. They would have brought Roxas here, but Riku's words had torn them until they decided to leave the Organization. No doubt its members were out looking for them, but for now they could gather their thoughts properly.

Xion slowly sat on the beach, their jacket shifting and making a soft scraping sound against the rough sand as they pulled their knee to their chest to rest their forehead against it. While they loved Twilight Town and its forever setting sun, something about seeing the sun actually dip below the horizon and disappear behind the sea was something they loved even more. The rays of sun at the Destiny Islands seemed to glint off the top of the water for a few moments longer the last of the beams seemed to be finally extinguished, replaced by an ever darkening sky full of twinkling stars that reflected off the water's surface as well. 

There was something about this place that drew them here, that felt as if it was home, but they had never been here before their missions so how could such a thing be true?  

* * *

_"Born to be_  
_An heir of beauty and serenity_  
_Into this world she entered quietly_  
_To her surprise she was the one"_

* * *

  
Twilight Town always held a special place in Xion's memories, serving as the first place they had sea salt ice cream with Axel and Roxas. Staring at the clock tower chiming the hour of midnight, they quietly slipped into the shadows of alley ways, following an unclear path towards the old abandoned mansion on the edge of the town. While the sun was forever hung just above setting, people in Twilight Town were all sleeping at this hour, some how able to block the sunlight from their rooms to be able to doze without interruption. The absence of people made it easy to get to the mansion quickly, completely avoiding running into anyone who might stop them.

Unlike the Destiny Islands, the town held little to no memories that they hadn't created themselves. Every memory they could recall of Twilight Town involved them, Xion, and Axel or Roxas or both, sitting on the clock tower and laughing. Every moment had been precious to them, a gift they treasured. Axel and Roxas had been the first people they had any positive interactions with, they had been friends- _best_  friends. Xion couldn't imagine a reality without the three of them being together, it just never occurred to them that the quiet and peaceful days they spent eating sea salt ice cream while staring at a never ending twilight would come to an end.

Their treasure was starting to break and there seemed to only be one option left for them to take to protect that treasure.

 

* * *

  _"Destiny was close behind her,_  
_phantom of borrowed life._  
_and the sea was a reminder,_  
_mirror of given light."_  

* * *

  
The old mansion's exterior was surprisingly stable for the multitude of years that had left the interior coated in dust and debris. The curtains, probably a majestic red years ago, now a faded and moth bitten shamble with the threads fraying on the edges. Paintings were coated in layers of dust that obscured the original image, preventing one from ever understanding the artist's intentions. The musty smell of the accumulation of dust and decay seemed to permeate the lower floor, yet if one moved up the stairs the smell all but disappeared.

It was a bitter sweet relief, to be in a place where the memories Sora had didn't overlap. They could stand in the massive hall, staring at the dust covered chandelier and not have someone else's memories start to remind them of things they had yet to figure out. And yet, with what they came here to accomplish... it was too sweet too late.

The first time they realized it, it had been their memories of Castle Oblivion that seemed to be fragmented and distorted. The memories felt as if they were recorded and being played back for Xion with the constant reminder _'these are yours.'_  But what was supposed to be their memories... weren't. They had never been to Castle Oblivion before recently, not with a duck or some dog person. And the voice that was speaking, the voice that was talking to the duck and the dog person was not theirs- it was of a young boy, a voice that they hadn't heard before. How could these memories be their's if they felt so drastically wrong? And why would they have those memories when they hadn't been there? They were, after all, a puppet, a thing created by a Nobody, they had no past, no future, nothing, so why were their memories comprised of those from Sora?

"Dummy... No use reminiscing over that now..." They muttered, dragging a finger through a collection of dust on the dinning room table before quickly turning to wander their way up the stairs. 

It was just like Riku said- Sora's memories were a part of them, the memories of Kairi and him. That's why they had no other memories before the Organization, only those memories of Sora and Kairi. Their entire existence was borrowed from Sora, borrowed from his memories of his special person. 

* * *

" _Then one day,  
__the sign she'd waited for in skies of grey  
__traversed a winding road and came her way-  
__She found the love she hoped she would."_  

* * *

  
"So when you disappear, no one will remember you. There won't be any 'you' to remember.." Naminé softly but seriously tells them this, her face looking down at her empty sketch pad, her voice always soft, something they weren't quite used to. "For all the powers I possess, I can't keep even one piece of the memory called 'you' connected."

They clutched their hands in their lap, staring at their gloves as they tried to grasp what Naminé was trying so gently to explain. As it sank in, their chest tightened in an unnatural way. They knew this, they knew their time was borrowed since they woke in Vexen's lab full of incomplete puppets and half baked plans. They just hadn't realized it yet.

"I... I know." They swallow, gripping their hands together before looking at the other. "I'm ready. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here."

They knew, deep down they had always known.

* * *

" _But she knew_  
_that she had promises to stay true to  
_ _the dormant daughter of the silver moon.  
_ _Then all at once she understood."_

* * *

 

"Xion. What are you gonna do?" Axel asked that, as if the answer were so simple to give to him. If it had been a simple answer, they would have brought him along, hell they might have brought Roxas along too. But the answer they had been looking for it... it wasn't an answer that matched everyone's taste. Even they didn't like it, but it was what had to be done, for Sora and Roxas... Right?

"I've decided that I have to go back to where I belong."

"Well, to be honest, I always felt that was best, right from the very beginning." Did he mean for those words to sting so badly? "But, you know, it still really bugs me. Something about this just stinks."

"It's for the good of everyone."

"But how do _you_  know that? Everybody thinks they're right..." Xion bites there lip, keeping their eyes on the ground.

"This _is_  right." It hurts, gods does it hurt. This wasn't at all how they had wanted this to go, not in the slightest.

"They're gonna destroy you!" Axel waves his hands out, pleading to them, but the wield their key blade anyway. There is no stopping it, not now, not ever.

"Please don't hold back, Axel. Promise." It's the first time they look at his face directly, and it only hurts more.

"What's your problem?!" 

He's bent over now, shaking his head and causing his firey red hair to move with his motion. 

"You both..." He sounds tired, like this entire thing has exhausted him to his soul. "Think you can do whatever you want. Well, I'm sick of it."

Xion swallows, gripping their key blade tighter. They know they've done it now, they've hurt him alright, hurt him to the point of anger. They fight the urge to run away, to disappear into the shadows just like they did before the sea salt ice cream atop a clock tower, before the missions spent laughing with Roxas, before they began to feel alive. They want so badly to turn back the clock, to change fate, but they can't.

"Go on, you just keep running." He's summoned his Chakrams- Xion had always found them fascinating, even when they knew the weapons were being turned on them. "But I'll always be there to bring you back!"

They wish they could say something, anything, but they can't. If they speak now they'll start crying, and they needed to focus. 

The last thing they remember is going to swing their blade at Axel's stomach, their head spinning from over exhaustion, and then darkness.

 

* * *

_"Destiny was close behind her,_  
_phantom of borrowed life._  
_And the sea was a reminder,_  
_mirror of given light."_

* * *

Roxas was exactly where they knew he'd be, sitting on the clock tower, staring at Twilight Town's horizon. When they sit next to him, he's genuinely shocked, almost jumps out of his skin as he shouts their name. 

Sea salt ice cream, their traditional treat after missions as friends. They pull out two of the sweet and salty treats, handing one to Roxas without a word.

"Thank you," he's grinning before starting to lick the ice cream. Xion does not join him in this, opting to stare at the horizon instead.

"Roxas... I'm out of time." They hate that they have to do this, they hate themselves for hurting Axel and Roxas like this, but there was no other option now. Either they did this or Sora would never wake up, things would continue to be under the Organization's control, Kingdom Hearts would...

They pull off their hood, keeping their eyes on the horizon, focusing on assuming an attitude of emptiness. They were an empty puppet, a fake, a sham. Roxas is shocked by their face, which has morphed to mimic Sora's perfectly.

"Even if I'm not ready... I have to make this choice." Naminé would take care of Axel and Roxas, right? She would make sure they were okay... right? 

"You have poured so many memories into me... Given me so much... That I feel like I'm about to overflow." How much of that was sadness? How much of it was their own? What even was their own anymore?

"Look at me Roxas." As if he would be able to look anywhere else. "Who do you see? If you see somebody else's face... a boy's face...  Then that means I'm almost ready. This puppet will have to play their part. Roxas..." They look at their best friend, the one they had to thank for so much, for their entire existence, for their brief but full happiness, for their adventures... They give him a smile.

"This is him. It's Sora." They move out away from the tower, pulling their cloak over their face again. They can't let Roxas see the horrible face they are making, the distortion of pain evident on Sora's- their- face. 

"You're next, Roxas. I have to make you a part of me, too. Don't you see?" They give a smirk, in case he can see past the cloak, in case their facade is slipping. "This is why I was created." 

There was no turning back now, no reversing, no running away.

 

* * *

" _From the sky_  
_she watched the life_  
_she'd known she would leave behind,_  
_said goodbye_  
_and gave her people_  
_life through her sacrifice."_

* * *

  
Saïx hadn't said they would be there. He hadn't told them _anything_  of what Xehanort had planned, hadn't breathed a single strategy, only orders. Train this, do that. Not that they cared any more, they spent most of their existence shoving any ounce of emotion or memory into a sort of box inside themselves. 

No feeling. No remembering. Nothing.

Axel had his own key blade, a shock to them at first but they couldn't show it, remain stoic, remain calm. Of course that also meant attacking Kairi and Axel, but they had no say in any of it. Whatever Xehanort said to do they did, end of story. Still, Axel was skilled with his key blade, which Xion had to give him credit for- how long had it taken them to figure out how to summon and use it?

Of course the credit only went so far when Saïx was their partner for this fight, and Saïx had been keeping himself well trained. It took a matter of minutes for him and Xion to have the three key blade wielders on their knees. But something felt... wrong, like a piece of them was breaking apart watching Saïx hold his heavy weapon above Lea's head. Xemnas' appearance only added to the unease, making their internal distress worse.

_"We're friends!"_

_"Got it memorized?"_

They flinched, their grip tightening on their key blade. This wasn't making sense, they were a blank slate again, an empty shell, a puppet. There was no way memories could be resurfacing- after all, they had been erased. Lea didn't even know their _name_ , so there was no possible way there were any memories to recall in the first place.

A sunset. A trolly. Salty and sweet ice cream. Laughter.

_"Got it memorized?"_

"Got it memorized?" Now it's Lea- or Axel or- they can't distinguish the two, they can't tell apart the memory from reality.

They had fought. He had Chakrams before, his key blade reflects that but with fire as the blade portion that Xemnas now holds as he mocks the blade.

_"What's your problem?!"_

_"Xion!"_

_"But I'll always be there to bring you back!"_

They don't even recall dashing to black Xemna's move, they don't even recall the entire events before, but they know they're blocking him from delivering the fatal and final blow to Axel. Their hand stings from grabbing the blade as they stare at the ground, trying to understand _why_  they are _doing this_?

"Changing sides again?"

"We need him alive. You know that." It's an empty, hollow of a response- but its a response, they suppose.

"... You were "friends." Then... _you_  take his life." 

_"We're best friends!"_

Everything in them screams to stop, to turn and run, but they don't. They rise up, their key blade in hand as they stare at Axel as he gasps for breath.

_"Got it memorized, Xion?"_

"Who... _are_... you...?" The point the blade at him, their mind a buzz with memories that are scattered. Nothing is making sense, nothing is connected, everything is hopelessly in disarray that responding is becoming impossible.

But they _have_  to do this. They _have_ to-

"Don't do this." Sora is in front of their trembling blade, he's grabbing it- his eyes are so blue, they recognize them from somewhere, somewhere with a crashing ocean and the smell of coconuts. Laughter. Why-

_Stop_. They shove him away to begin thrashing their blade against his, unaware of the whimpers that are leaving their mouth as they try to beat Sora back, as if they are beating the flood of memories back into the box they came from.

"It's alright! You can stop now!" They stare at him through the crossed blades, their own hands trembling as they try to understand why these words sound so familiar. "Its all right... Xion."

Their name. _Xion._  He knew their name? They can't respond, they can't do much really, the memories start to become bigger, like an avalanche that they had been running from the entire time. They can't even hear the sound of their key blade clang against the earth as they grab their head, starting to wail and thrash about, trying to stop the onslaught of information.

_"Got it memorized?" "We're best friends!" "What's your problem?!" "Xion!" "There won't be any 'you' to remember.." "Useless puppet..." "Xion! You're awake!" "Got it memorized?"_

"Useless puppet." Xemnas has kicked them into Sora, leaving them curled up on the dusty ground, clutching their throbbing temples. Surprisingly, the memories have stopped the avalanche assault, but scattered glimpses continue.

_"Got it memorized?" "Xion!" "Just an empty vessel..." "There won't be..." "Got it..."_

"XION!" Axel's voice pulls them from another break, drawing their attention as they stare at him, tears sliding down their face. 

_He remembered..._


End file.
